Why You Should Support Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell in Their Fight Against the ‘Pedorazzi’

Once upon a time I was in love with Kristen Bell. I thought she was cool, smart, beautiful, nerdy (in a good way!), down-to-earth, and determined. She’s basically a lesser beloved Jennifer Lawrence. Now Bell and her husband, fellow actor Dax Shepard, are so awesome that they fight for what they believe in. For example, Kristen has made it a point to try to buy things only made in the US in addition to contributing to many charities.

But now it’s time for Bell and Shepard to take a stand against something that directly affects their lives. You see, the couple welcomed a baby girl last March and have soon learned what a hassle it has been trying to keep her out of the public eye. Since then, they’ve become more informed about the problems children of celebrities may encounter, specifically being harassed by paparazzi.

The two have started referring to those who harass children of celebrities, call them names, and get in their faces as the ‘pedorazzi.’ Both actors have spent the past few days tweeting at entertainment magazines like People Magazine asking them to stop buying photographs of celebrity minors from paps who haven’t been given consent to take said photos. In addition, they’ve asked their fans to boycott any media platform that does so.

So you might be asking: “Who gives a shit?” Am I right? Does anyone really care if a few celebrity kids are a little upset by people taking pictures of them? Well, the answer seems to be yes. Most of the feedback Bell and Shepard have received has been positive, but there have been a few negative comments. Most of these naysayers are trying to argue that celebrities knew what they were getting into when they got famous, and this is just the price of fame.

The only problem with that? These children didn’t “know what they were getting into.” Children like Lincoln, Shepard and Bell’s daughter, should not have to suffer this consequence just because of who their parents are. Honestly, if they were your kids, would you really want to see this kind of thing happening? Honestly. Ignore the whole celebrity thing for a second. If your child were being harassed by paparazzi – for whatever reason – would you just let it slide? I don’t think so, and neither would I. Supporting this – or just plain not arguing against it – isn’t going to affect your life in any way. Are you really that jealous and angry at celebrities that you’re going to sit behind a computer screen and nag about how they “deserve this?” Is it really that important to you that you see a few more pictures of celebrities’ babies that you need to have this?

Both Shepard and Bell know this isn’t super high on the list of our priorities. There are a lot of other things that are more important. There are people with cancer, starving children, abused animals… But just because there are other things to worry about, it doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about this. If someone is diagnosed with diabetes, does a doctor turn them away because there are patients with cancer? No. Bell has a large list of charities she’s contributed to and worked with over the years. Shepard even addresses this sort of thing in an article he wrote for the Huffington Post, which you can read here. Bell even did an interview with Buzzfeed (which you can read here) in which she delved further into the topic, addressing the charities she’s contributed to in addition to why she feels so strongly about the issue.

This is just one of those things where you either do the simple and small amount you have to do in order to support this… or you’re a bigot and you complain about it even though it doesn’t directly affect your life in any way at all. So don’t be a bigot. Take a stand by boycotting media platforms that buy photos from the ‘pedorazzi.’ It’s really not that hard.